


Symetrical

by eileeenbelieves



Category: One Direction
Genre: BadBoys!One Direction, Boarding School, F/M, Intimidation, Punk!One Direction, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-02 19:46:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eileeenbelieves/pseuds/eileeenbelieves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Read and weep. | Yes, this is a 1D fanfic; no, it is not a supernatural.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Home

Aphrodite.

 

In the silent room of the library, Aphrodite sat in one of the mahogany tables, a pair of headphones wedged into her tiny ears and a thick book in her tiny hands. She had just freshly been placed into the boarding school she was currently attending, and because her parents were so "busy", they had left her there during Thanksgiving break, while more than half of the school body was with their own family having a jolly time. The need of a new school on such a short notice was partially Aphrodite's fault, considering she had just gotten kicked out of her old school last week. It wasn't her fault though, she swears. It was just a misunderstandment, and one she didn't look forward to ever having to speak about again. Anyways, her parents didn't have time for Aphrodite's "childish behavior" and as usual didn't have time to watch after her during the holidays because they were busy at work, so they enrolled her at the six best boarding school in London, because Aphrodite had already gotten expelled from the first top two -again, not Aphrodite's fault at all- and boarding schools number three through five didn't respond as fast as six did. There were maybe twenty other students left at the campus, so Aphrodite didn't feel so bad, but then again there was 99 percent of the student body with families who appreciate them, so that didn't make herself much any better. The staff at the front office felt her pain for her as her parents dropped her off to sign some last few papers, and reminded her that if she needed someone to talk to, they always needed help at the office. The help given would also add some hours of community service for her, so she would surely be going sometime soon this week.

 

Aphrodite had already set up her things in her room that, praise the Lord for this, she shared with no one. The boarding school wasn't very full of students and since Aphrodite had come on such short notice, she was given a room to herself. Aphrodite had taped her personal photos that she had taken, and posters on one wall, and it took up the whole wall. There was two beds, so Aphrodite chose the one by the window and made it in her maroon colored sheets and tossed the given pillow to the other bed so she could replace it with her own very fluffy pillow. Her laptop, speakers, and video camera was set up at the desk given at the other side of the room and Aphrodite was definitely proud of her work. Sadly, once she was finished with her room Aphrodite had nothing left to do, and there wasn't much she could do. She didn't even have homework to work on, and she had already walked around the campus so many times she even had the middle school's buildings memorized. It was sad really, so Aphrodite was currently in the grade 10 through 12 library reading a book with an interesting cover, and listening to her favorite band, The Killers. It was peaceful for a good while, but Aphrodite can keep still for only so long so she put back the book, and pulled out her headphones, deciding food would be good right now. The air outside was brisk, and the cold had settled long before September so she hurried along to the closest Cafe ran by students. It was a quirky little shop with bad music, and dim lighting but it was soothing and vacant so Aphrodite got into the nonexistent line and waited for someone to pop up somewhere. She rang the little bell that called for service, and a head popped out from the curtain that separated the back and front.

 

"Sorry, wasn't really expecting customers but I'm forced to keep the shop open if I'm gonna be staying here during the holidays" A boy, somewhat Aphrodite's age, chuckled. He came out from the back, smiling a bright smile at her and approached the bar top.

 

“S'alright. You're American" Aphrodite acknowledged, smiling because yes, Aphrodite was fascinated with Americans.

 

"And you're British" He chirped, earning a smile from Aphrodite.

 

“M'sorry; Americans fascinate me" She admitted, no shame evident. He chuckled at this, and nodded

 

"A lot of you Brits do. It's crazy how many people asked me to talk when I first came here, there's only one other American here"

 

"I assume it'd be vice versa in America"

 

"Touché" He chuckled softly, leaning slightly against the bar top as he slipped off his work sun visor off his dirty blonde hair.

 

"Why're you here instead of home?"

 

"My guardians are currently at the The Bahamas celebrating their anniversary" He sighed, frowning a bit.

 

"Guardians?"

 

"My parents died a while back"

 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude; I'm a curious person" Aphrodite's cheeks burned at the embarrassment, and he smiled.

 

"It's alright, I'm fine. Why aren't you at home?"

 

"Well, my parents are workaholics and dumped me at this school last minute so they could go finish whatever it is they do"

 

"That explains why I've never seen you, why here? This school pretty much sucks ass compared to the others around"

 

"Yeah, well my parents' first choices didn't reply fast enough as this one did"

 

"Where'd you go before?"

 

"Lindon Hale" He whistled a long low blow, and raised his eyebrows.

 

"It'd be smart if you didn't say that name 'round here. Lindon Hale's our arch rivals, they beat us in everything, and always start fights with us" He informed her; Aphrodite nodded like she knew even though she didn't.

 

"Yeah, they're jerks there"

 

"So, your parents must be pretty loaded if you went there"

 

"I'd say that's a superstition made" Aphrodite grinned, and he laughed

 

"Sorry, but Lindon Hale is known for the rich"

 

"Yeah well my parents' money don't mean a thing to me; it’s useful, but not important"

 

"Words of the wise" He smirked, and she let a laugh slip of her own.

 

"I didn't catch your name"

 

"My name's Jordan, yours?"

 

"Fro"

 

"Fro?"

 

"Yes" He gave Aphrodite a puzzled look, and she shrugged but he didn't press on to it.

 

"Well, Fro, I have a ton of boxes to move from the back and you aren't doing anything, wanna help?" He smiled warmly, beckoning a hand to a curtain behind him.

 

"Will it earn me free lunch?" Aphrodite asked, hope rising in her. He chuckled at her, but nodded

 

"I'm sure we can work that out"

 

-

 

  
"So, tell me more about this school" I insisted, biting into the sandwich Jordan had placed in front of me.

 

"Well, its complete shit" He started. I cracked a grin, and he returned the smile. "Our tests scores suck ass, but our sports team really do kick ass. I'm the type of guy who signs up for too many clubs and takes on too many organizations, so I'm always at the games to cheer on our teams" Aphrodite sniggered quietly, and felt a pinch at my shoulder. she yelped, jumping back in her seat.

 

"Hey!"

 

"Don't laugh, I have spirit" He frowned; only making her giggle more.

 

"Anyways. There definitely are cliques here, like in the shit movies you see on TV; there's the popular, jocks, band geeks, art geeks, choir groupies, regulated groupies, wannabes, attention whores, depressing people, overly awesome people, which is where I am" He paused to send a wink Aphrodite's way, and she rolled her eyes at that. "And yeah, the list goes on, but everyone works that way"

 

"So cliché" Aphrodite mumbled, and he nodded.

 

"Really is, but the school revolves round it" He stated through a mouthful of a sandwich bite. "Like, Band geeks don't just hang out with the jocks, or vice versa. It's just how it goes"

 

"There's an exception for the popular though" He adds.

 

"Like, it's a limited amount of people but there's Louis, Zayn, Harry, Liam, Niall, Stan, Nick, Josh, Eleanor, Perrie, Danielle, Sophia, and Cher. They're a mix of every type of clique but they all go together and make the 'popular group'"

 

"Go on..."

 

"Like, Louis, Niall, Stand and Liam are total jocks, Nick and Perrie are organization leader like me, and the other girls plus Harry are all either art, dance and/or theatre arts geeks"

 

"That makes no sense"

 

"I'm saying"

 

"This school's full of shit, mate"

 

"You'll get used to it, don't worry" Jordan grins, patting Aphrodite lightly on the shoulder as we polish off our plates and cups of lemonade. She helps him for the rest of the day, eating some of the display food when Jordan's not looking, because the desserts just look so irresistible, and even though Jordan catches her every time and threatens her each time, he lets her get away with it with a smile. So maybe the school's complete shit, but at least Aphrodite made a friend, well at least she thinks he's her friend, and Aphrodite's never had luck with friends, so maybe it won't be so bad.

 

-

 

Aphrodite's sort of dreading having to have to go back to her dorm because there's nothing to do there, but she swaps numbers with Jordan and he walks her to her building, promising to text her later, so it's not that bad. When she gets to her room, she opens her laptop and updates her blog before showering and changing into night clothes. She dreams she's with family at their house in Spain, having dinner on Thanksgiving and everything's so lovely, it reminds her of those happy commercials of Thanksgiving. Even her dead sister is there, more than alive, by Aphrodite's side, holding her hand and laughing at something their parents said, and Aphrodite's never been more happy because on the table besides her elbow, her phone is ringing from an incoming call from the first real friend she's ever made, Jordan. It's seconds within her perfect dream though, whenever the scenery turns black and the dream's ripped from her sight, being replaced by the same scenario of Aphrodite's sister's death.

 

Aphrodite didn't get much sleep as the week went on, her nightmares constantly nagging her, and the week goes by much faster than she liked. She helped out at the office and gets thirty hours off her list, learning quite a few things about some students at school after going through their records. That might of gotten her in trouble, but no one caught her so it's ok, plus she learned a lot more about Jordan, and a bit about the popular. Aphrodite wasn't sure why she labeled them like that, but Jordan did and there were too many names to list, so she went by "The Populars". When she wasn't at the office, she was with Jordan, working at the cafe, and when the hours were over they often went to Jordan's dorm to watch flicks. Jordan had a lot of movies, and even though Aphrodite laughed for a long time when she saw they were mostly sappy romances and chick flicks she liked him even more for it. Jordan didn't seem embarrassed about it, so they watched films until curfew came around and Aphrodite bid goodbye to Jordan and went her way. On Thanksgiving Day Jordan blew off work, and Aphrodite convinced the office to let her and Jordan get off school campus for just a while. When they were given permission they dressed in winter clothes, and set out for the city. They hauled a taxi, and because Aphrodite had more than enough money, she paid the fair only to make Jordan blush and promise to repay her. Aphrodite smiled, but shook her head, and before Jordan could argue they arrived at Aphrodite's destination, a pub. Jordan, fortunately, drinked, so they got really smashed, and ate greasy food but it was ok, because it was the best Thanksgiving Aphrodite's had in a long time. So yeah, Aphrodite's finally made a decent friend.

 

On Saturday students started coming home, filling the buildings and campus, and Aphrodite was starting to miss the holiday breaks a lot more. It was always loud and busy, two things Aphrodite did not like. She learned to deal with it, and locked herself in her room to block out the stream of girls everywhere in the building, and students on campus. She texted Jordan from where she watched a film in her living area.

 

"Are u going to the pot luck 2day for dinner? Xx -J

 

Wasn't even aware of it, isn't it supposed to be before Thanksgiving though? -F

 

Yeah, well 2day's the day when everyone gets back, so they celebrate here 2day. Come, yeah? -J

 

I suppose, I've got nothing better to do anyways -F

 

That's the spirit! I'll come get u round 7, dress nice! Xx -J

 

Are you implying I don't ever dress nice, Jordan? -F

 

Course not, Fro but they took pot luck day like a service on Sunday, and I'm sure you won't listen but try to get into the school spirit. Plus, I'd love to see you in a dress (-; Xx -J

 

No dresses. I'll see you at 7 -F

 

Hopefully in a dress! Xx -J"

 

Aphrodite didn't wear a dress, and she's sure what she had chosen to wear wasn't even fancy or Sunday service appropriate, but Aphrodite's sure Jordan and her saw it coming anyways. He knocked at the door exactly at seven, and Aphrodite could have figured by now that Jordan's a very punctual person.

 

"Tell me why I saw it coming that you weren't going to come in a dress?" He asked, grinning widely when the door was opened. Aphrodite did a look over at his appearance, and smiled when she saw the black jeans that hugged his legs nicely, fancy brown boots, and dark brown sweater.

 

"Brown suits you" She stated, ignoring what he asked. He scoffed, but accepted my compliment before leading us to the mass hall.

 

"I'd call us twinkies, but I feel like you'd punch me for even using that term" He sniggers as they start walking, looking down again at the dark brown bat winged cardigan, black tights, and dark brown combat boots Aphrodite's wearing.

 

"Right you are, young Jordan" Aphrodite sing songs, earning a laugh from him.

 

The mass hall was filled with students, and even though the middle school students were in their own mass hall there was still a fairly large amount of students. Aphrodite didn't find it weird that Jordan knew everyone that passed by him considering he was so social, but he never left her side which she was grateful for. People waved, and acknowledged his presence a lot, and it took all Aphrodite had to not ask how come Jordan wasn't with the populars because she was just so curious, but it'd be rather rude and Aphrodite did know right from wrong when she actually thought about it. So her lips stayed sealed, and she smiled at the people who gave her smiles. Obviously, everyone either knew each other or knew of each other, so she received a lot of stares as she stood out with her new face. Eventually, she sees people staring and whispering as Jordan is engaged into a conversation with a tall lanky boy with somewhat curly hair that’s pushed back into a quiff at the top. He looks like he's twenty and he's got a bit of stubble growing but he blends in with the students so well Aphrodite's not sure if he's an old student or young teacher. There's a girl with purple hair besides him, and Aphrodite concludes that this school really is bonkers. They're both equally attractive and though the guy wears faded black jeans with a tear on his thigh, a white graphic tee, and a denim sleeve shirt over it, and the girl wears a simple black puffy dress with sunflowers all over it with combat boots, Aphrodite feels very plain standing next to them. She instantly likes the guy though, his outfit choice makes her wish she would have worn her sweats like she intended to but thought better against.

 

"So, who's the newbie?" Purple hair finally asks, her eyes skimming over to Aphrodite in delight.

 

"Um, I'm Fro" Aphrodite states, forcing a determined look of confidence on her face.

 

"Fro?" Purple hair asks, as if she had heard wrong, and Aphrodite nods.

 

"Fro" The guy repeats, testing the name and they all turned towards him. His eyes return to Aphrodite and his eyes light up. "I like it"

 

"I'm Nick, Nick Grimshaw" He smiles, reaching out to take her hand. He grabs it before Aphrodite can even give it to him and he places a small chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Purple hair giggles besides him, and swats at his shoulder.

 

"Stop making moon eyes at her, Nick" She squeals, and Jordan laughs as Nick only grins in return. "I'm Perrie" She adds.

 

"Nice to meet you all"

 

"Where'd you come from?" Perrie asks, her head leaning to the side in curiously.

 

"She came from Lindon Hales" Jordan chirps besides me, and Perrie scowls as Nick groans.

 

"Hate that school" Nick states, rolling his eyes as Perrie nods.

 

"Some of the boys picked a fight with Nick last year, of course he kicked their ass but it still gets to us" She states, and Aphrodite nods like she understands.

 

"How long have you been on campus?" Nick asks,

 

"Since Monday"

 

"So, you've been here during the holidays?"

 

"Yep"

 

"Well, I'm sure the others would love to meet you" Nick's eyes glow, as he grins and Perrie nods enthusiastically besides him.

 

"I'm sure they would, but not tonight guys" Jordan steps in quickly, linking his arm through mine.

 

"Aw, come on Jordan. Don't be like that" Perrie whines and Jordan waves them off.

 

"I'll see you lot Monday at the fundraiser" Jordan replies instead, and Nick's got this look of determination that Aphrodite's sure he's going to continue to pester Jordan to let Aphrodite join him and Perrie, but he drops it and nods. Aphrodite's only half disappointed, but she trusts Jordan’s' judgment, and he obviously didn't want Aphrodite to meet "The Group" so she sulks internally. Nick and Perrie wave Jordan and Aphrodite goodbye and stride away with ease.

 

"So, any particular reason why I can’t meet them, mother?" Aphrodite's only half joking, but Jordan looks a little strained so she frowns instead of smiling in a joking matter.

 

"You wouldn't like them, Fro, and if you did, I'd only hope you didn't turn into people like them" He mutters barely audible for Aphrodite to hear, but she does.

 

"Nick and Perrie seemed like nice people" Aphrodite reminds him.

 

"That's them, and they were in a good mood. The others are much different"

 

"I suppose..."

 

"Come, let's go eat some food, I'm starving" Jordan insists, pulling Aphrodite alongside of him. She laugh quietly at him, but allows him to pull her with him. They pass a bunch of staring people, but there in the corner of the mass hall is Perrie and Nick already staring at her. Aphrodite turns red as she catches eye with them, but they smile somewhat of a smirk instead of looking away in shame, and Perrie wiggles her fingers at Aphrodite. Aphrodite waves back, and from behind them she can suddenly see a group of equally attractive people staring at her as well. Aphrodite's smile falters awkwardly, as she makes out the same smirks on all their faces.  
September so she hurried along to the closest Cafe ran by students. It was a quirky little shop with bad music, and dim lighting but it was soothing and vacant so Aphrodite got into the nonexistent line and waited for someone to pop up somewhere. She rang the little bell that called for service, and a head popped out from the curtain that separated the back and front.

 

"Sorry, wasn't really expecting customers but I'm forced to keep the shop open if I'm gonna be staying here during the holidays" A boy, somewhat Aphrodite's age, chuckled. He came out from the back, smiling a bright smile at her and approached the bar top.

 

“S'alright. You're American" Aphrodite acknowledged, smiling because yes, Aphrodite was fascinated with Americans.

 

"And you're British" He chirped, earning a smile from Aphrodite.

 

“M'sorry; Americans fascinate me" She admitted, no shame evident. He chuckled at this, and nodded

 

"A lot of you Brits do. It's crazy how many people asked me to talk when I first came here, there's only one other American here"

 

"I assume it'd be vice versa in America"

 

"Touché" He chuckled softly, leaning slightly against the bar top as he slipped off his work sun visor off his dirty blonde hair.

 

"Why're you here instead of home?"

 

"My guardians are currently at the The Bahamas celebrating their anniversary" He sighed, frowning a bit.

 

"Guardians?"

 

"My parents died a while back"

 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude; I'm a curious person" Aphrodite's cheeks burned at the embarrassment, and he smiled.

 

"It's alright, I'm fine. Why aren't you at home?"

 

"Well, my parents are workaholics and dumped me at this school last minute so they could go finish whatever it is they do"

 

"That explains why I've never seen you, why here? This school pretty much sucks ass compared to the others around"

 

"Yeah, well my parents' first choices didn't reply fast enough as this one did"

 

"Where'd you go before?"

 

"Lindon Hale" He whistled a long low blow, and raised his eyebrows.

 

"It'd be smart if you didn't say that name 'round here. Lindon Hale's our arch rivals, they beat us in everything, and always start fights with us" He informed her; Aphrodite nodded like she knew even though she didn't.

 

"Yeah, they're jerks there"

 

"So, your parents must be pretty loaded if you went there"

 

"I'd say that's a superstition made" Aphrodite grinned, and he laughed

 

"Sorry, but Lindon Hale is known for the rich"

 

"Yeah well my parents' money don't mean a thing to me; it’s useful, but not important"

 

"Words of the wise" He smirked, and she let a laugh slip of her own.

 

"I didn't catch your name"

 

"My name's Jordan, yours?"

 

"Fro"

 

"Fro?"

 

"Yes" He gave Aphrodite a puzzled look, and she shrugged but he didn't press on to it.

 

"Well, Fro, I have a ton of boxes to move from the back and you aren't doing anything, wanna help?" He smiled warmly, beckoning a hand to a curtain behind him.

 

"Will it earn me free lunch?" Aphrodite asked, hope rising in her. He chuckled at her, but nodded

 

"I'm sure we can work that out"

 

-

 

  
"So, tell me more about this school" I insisted, biting into the sandwich Jordan had placed in front of me.

 

"Well, its complete shit" He started. I cracked a grin, and he returned the smile. "Our tests scores suck ass, but our sports team really do kick ass. I'm the type of guy who signs up for too many clubs and takes on too many organizations, so I'm always at the games to cheer on our teams" Aphrodite sniggered quietly, and felt a pinch at my shoulder. she yelped, jumping back in her seat.

 

"Hey!"

 

"Don't laugh, I have spirit" He frowned; only making her giggle more.

 

"Anyways. There definitely are cliques here, like in the shit movies you see on TV; there's the popular, jocks, band geeks, art geeks, choir groupies, regulated groupies, wannabes, attention whores, depressing people, overly awesome people, which is where I am" He paused to send a wink Aphrodite's way, and she rolled her eyes at that. "And yeah, the list goes on, but everyone works that way"

 

"So cliché" Aphrodite mumbled, and he nodded.

 

"Really is, but the school revolves round it" He stated through a mouthful of a sandwich bite. "Like, Band geeks don't just hang out with the jocks, or vice versa. It's just how it goes"

 

"There's an exception for the popular though" He adds.

 

"Like, it's a limited amount of people but there's Louis, Zayn, Harry, Liam, Niall, Stan, Nick, Josh, Eleanor, Perrie, Danielle, Sophia, and Cher. They're a mix of every type of clique but they all go together and make the 'popular group'"

 

"Go on..."

 

"Like, Louis, Niall, Stand and Liam are total jocks, Nick and Perrie are organization leader like me, and the other girls plus Harry are all either art, dance and/or theatre arts geeks"

 

"That makes no sense"

 

"I'm saying"

 

"This school's full of shit, mate"

 

"You'll get used to it, don't worry" Jordan grins, patting Aphrodite lightly on the shoulder as we polish off our plates and cups of lemonade. She helps him for the rest of the day, eating some of the display food when Jordan's not looking, because the desserts just look so irresistible, and even though Jordan catches her every time and threatens her each time, he lets her get away with it with a smile. So maybe the school's complete shit, but at least Aphrodite made a friend, well at least she thinks he's her friend, and Aphrodite's never had luck with friends, so maybe it won't be so bad.

 

-

 

Aphrodite's sort of dreading having to have to go back to her dorm because there's nothing to do there, but she swaps numbers with Jordan and he walks her to her building, promising to text her later, so it's not that bad. When she gets to her room, she opens her laptop and updates her blog before showering and changing into night clothes. She dreams she's with family at their house in Spain, having dinner on Thanksgiving and everything's so lovely, it reminds her of those happy commercials of Thanksgiving. Even her dead sister is there, more than alive, by Aphrodite's side, holding her hand and laughing at something their parents said, and Aphrodite's never been more happy because on the table besides her elbow, her phone is ringing from an incoming call from the first real friend she's ever made, Jordan. It's seconds within her perfect dream though, whenever the scenery turns black and the dream's ripped from her sight, being replaced by the same scenario of Aphrodite's sister's death.

 

Aphrodite didn't get much sleep as the week went on, her nightmares constantly nagging her, and the week goes by much faster than she liked. She helped out at the office and gets thirty hours off her list, learning quite a few things about some students at school after going through their records. That might of gotten her in trouble, but no one caught her so it's ok, plus she learned a lot more about Jordan, and a bit about the popular. Aphrodite wasn't sure why she labeled them like that, but Jordan did and there were too many names to list, so she went by "The Populars". When she wasn't at the office, she was with Jordan, working at the cafe, and when the hours were over they often went to Jordan's dorm to watch flicks. Jordan had a lot of movies, and even though Aphrodite laughed for a long time when she saw they were mostly sappy romances and chick flicks she liked him even more for it. Jordan didn't seem embarrassed about it, so they watched films until curfew came around and Aphrodite bid goodbye to Jordan and went her way. On Thanksgiving Day Jordan blew off work, and Aphrodite convinced the office to let her and Jordan get off school campus for just a while. When they were given permission they dressed in winter clothes, and set out for the city. They hauled a taxi, and because Aphrodite had more than enough money, she paid the fair only to make Jordan blush and promise to repay her. Aphrodite smiled, but shook her head, and before Jordan could argue they arrived at Aphrodite's destination, a pub. Jordan, fortunately, drinked, so they got really smashed, and ate greasy food but it was ok, because it was the best Thanksgiving Aphrodite's had in a long time. So yeah, Aphrodite's finally made a decent friend.

 

On Saturday students started coming home, filling the buildings and campus, and Aphrodite was starting to miss the holiday breaks a lot more. It was always loud and busy, two things Aphrodite did not like. She learned to deal with it, and locked herself in her room to block out the stream of girls everywhere in the building, and students on campus. She texted Jordan from where she watched a film in her living area.

 

"Are u going to the pot luck 2day for dinner? Xx -J

 

Wasn't even aware of it, isn't it supposed to be before Thanksgiving though? -F

 

Yeah, well 2day's the day when everyone gets back, so they celebrate here 2day. Come, yeah? -J

 

I suppose, I've got nothing better to do anyways -F

 

That's the spirit! I'll come get u round 7, dress nice! Xx -J

 

Are you implying I don't ever dress nice, Jordan? -F

 

Course not, Fro but they took pot luck day like a service on Sunday, and I'm sure you won't listen but try to get into the school spirit. Plus, I'd love to see you in a dress (-; Xx -J

 

No dresses. I'll see you at 7 -F

 

Hopefully in a dress! Xx -J"

 

Aphrodite didn't wear a dress, and she's sure what she had chosen to wear wasn't even fancy or Sunday service appropriate, but Aphrodite's sure Jordan and her saw it coming anyways. He knocked at the door exactly at seven, and Aphrodite could have figured by now that Jordan's a very punctual person.

 

"Tell me why I saw it coming that you weren't going to come in a dress?" He asked, grinning widely when the door was opened. Aphrodite did a look over at his appearance, and smiled when she saw the black jeans that hugged his legs nicely, fancy brown boots, and dark brown sweater.

 

"Brown suits you" She stated, ignoring what he asked. He scoffed, but accepted my compliment before leading us to the mass hall.

 

"I'd call us twinkies, but I feel like you'd punch me for even using that term" He sniggers as they start walking, looking down again at the dark brown bat winged cardigan, black tights, and dark brown combat boots Aphrodite's wearing.

 

"Right you are, young Jordan" Aphrodite sing songs, earning a laugh from him.

 

The mass hall was filled with students, and even though the middle school students were in their own mass hall there was still a fairly large amount of students. Aphrodite didn't find it weird that Jordan knew everyone that passed by him considering he was so social, but he never left her side which she was grateful for. People waved, and acknowledged his presence a lot, and it took all Aphrodite had to not ask how come Jordan wasn't with the populars because she was just so curious, but it'd be rather rude and Aphrodite did know right from wrong when she actually thought about it. So her lips stayed sealed, and she smiled at the people who gave her smiles. Obviously, everyone either knew each other or knew of each other, so she received a lot of stares as she stood out with her new face. Eventually, she sees people staring and whispering as Jordan is engaged into a conversation with a tall lanky boy with somewhat curly hair that’s pushed back into a quiff at the top. He looks like he's twenty and he's got a bit of stubble growing but he blends in with the students so well Aphrodite's not sure if he's an old student or young teacher. There's a girl with purple hair besides him, and Aphrodite concludes that this school really is bonkers. They're both equally attractive and though the guy wears faded black jeans with a tear on his thigh, a white graphic tee, and a denim sleeve shirt over it, and the girl wears a simple black puffy dress with sunflowers all over it with combat boots, Aphrodite feels very plain standing next to them. She instantly likes the guy though, his outfit choice makes her wish she would have worn her sweats like she intended to but thought better against.

 

"So, who's the newbie?" Purple hair finally asks, her eyes skimming over to Aphrodite in delight.

 

"Um, I'm Fro" Aphrodite states, forcing a determined look of confidence on her face.

 

"Fro?" Purple hair asks, as if she had heard wrong, and Aphrodite nods.

 

"Fro" The guy repeats, testing the name and they all turned towards him. His eyes return to Aphrodite and his eyes light up. "I like it"

 

"I'm Nick, Nick Grimshaw" He smiles, reaching out to take her hand. He grabs it before Aphrodite can even give it to him and he places a small chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Purple hair giggles besides him, and swats at his shoulder.

 

"Stop making moon eyes at her, Nick" She squeals, and Jordan laughs as Nick only grins in return. "I'm Perrie" She adds.

 

"Nice to meet you all"

 

"Where'd you come from?" Perrie asks, her head leaning to the side in curiously.

 

"She came from Lindon Hales" Jordan chirps besides me, and Perrie scowls as Nick groans.

 

"Hate that school" Nick states, rolling his eyes as Perrie nods.

 

"Some of the boys picked a fight with Nick last year, of course he kicked their ass but it still gets to us" She states, and Aphrodite nods like she understands.

 

"How long have you been on campus?" Nick asks,

 

"Since Monday"

 

"So, you've been here during the holidays?"

 

"Yep"

 

"Well, I'm sure the others would love to meet you" Nick's eyes glow, as he grins and Perrie nods enthusiastically besides him.

 

"I'm sure they would, but not tonight guys" Jordan steps in quickly, linking his arm through mine.

 

"Aw, come on Jordan. Don't be like that" Perrie whines and Jordan waves them off.

 

"I'll see you lot Monday at the fundraiser" Jordan replies instead, and Nick's got this look of determination that Aphrodite's sure he's going to continue to pester Jordan to let Aphrodite join him and Perrie, but he drops it and nods. Aphrodite's only half disappointed, but she trusts Jordan’s' judgment, and he obviously didn't want Aphrodite to meet "The Group" so she sulks internally. Nick and Perrie wave Jordan and Aphrodite goodbye and stride away with ease.

 

"So, any particular reason why I can’t meet them, mother?" Aphrodite's only half joking, but Jordan looks a little strained so she frowns instead of smiling in a joking matter.

 

"You wouldn't like them, Fro, and if you did, I'd only hope you didn't turn into people like them" He mutters barely audible for Aphrodite to hear, but she does.

 

"Nick and Perrie seemed like nice people" Aphrodite reminds him.

 

"That's them, and they were in a good mood. The others are much different"

 

"I suppose..."

 

"Come, let's go eat some food, I'm starving" Jordan insists, pulling Aphrodite alongside of him. She laugh quietly at him, but allows him to pull her with him. They pass a bunch of staring people, but there in the corner of the mass hall is Perrie and Nick already staring at her. Aphrodite turns red as she catches eye with them, but they smile somewhat of a smirk instead of looking away in shame, and Perrie wiggles her fingers at Aphrodite. Aphrodite waves back, and from behind them she can suddenly see a group of equally attractive people staring at her as well. Aphrodite's smile falters awkwardly, as she makes out the same smirks on all their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

Aphrodite.

 

Sunday was a much slower day, and Aphrodite woke up feeling a lot better than she had at the beginning of the week. She didn't have any nightmares last night, but there was one. She didn't classify it as a nightmare, but it did give her chills to think about. By the time she woke, she'd forgotten it though; Aphrodite pushed off her duvets and crossed the room to her bathroom where she showered, brushed her hair/teeth, and dressed. She had taken notice the day had taken a drastic change in weather, and the sun was out, beaming down on London. Just to make sure she was right, she stuck her hand out her window, and yes, it was rather hot out. Aphrodite didn't question the glorious weather though, so she dressed in her favorite washed out high waist shorts, a baseball tee with her favorite band, Pink Floyd, on the front, and her Converse. Aphrodite's hair was too much of a hassle to work with today, so she placed it into a messy bun at the top of her head, not bothering with the baby hairs that fell at the sides of her face and back of neck. It might've been the change in weather that had Aphrodite in a better mood, but she even added a bit of mascara to her long lashes and some lipstick to her full lips. She was in the middle of rubbing her, now red lips together to smooth out the color when Aphrodite realized what she was doing. She scowled at the mirror, before putting the cap back on the lipstick and putting it away quickly. She was ready to clean off the makeup, but she rather liked how it looked today, so she overthought it before grabbing her satchel with cute little pineapples on it and stuffing her drawing books, pencils and laptop inside. She slid it on, and went out her way towards the cafe.

 

The cafe, much to Aphrodite's surprise, was being run by another person who wasn't Jordan. It was a tiny girl with a wide face and purple lips; she had very long eyelashes that got curly at the ends, and long dark brown curly hair. Her sun visor with the cafe logo was bedazzled in gem stones, and her work shirt was cut into a crop top, one shoulder sleeve sliding off her shoulder. Her name tag displayed "Jesy".

 

"You alright there?" Aphrodite asked when Jesy still hadn't taken notice of her presence, too caught up in trying to work a machine that looked too difficult for her. Jesy turned around quickly, obviously startled and let out a laugh when she saw Aphrodite.

 

"Yeah, just can't get the damn machine to work" She smiled sheepishly, and Aphrodite grinned

 

"Need some help?" She offered,

 

"Yeah, you know how to work this thing?"

 

"Yeah, Jordan showed me earlier this week" As soon as the words had left her mouth, she regretted it; She hoped that wouldn't get Jordan in any trouble, but she doubted Jesy would say anything, so she calmed down.

 

"You must be Fro" Jesy stated instead, a new look of delight coming across her face.

 

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Aphrodite asked. Jesy grinned, leaving the machine behind to lean on one of the glass that displayed the desserts.

 

"Who doesn't know is an easier question to ask" Jesy giggled, like it was the funniest thing ever, so Aphrodite forced a laugh trying to much her enthusiasm.

 

"How do you know my name, then?" Aphrodite tried again, and Jesy calmed down her laughter.

 

"Everyone knows you, hunny. You're fresh meat, and we love fresh meat here" She chirps, "Especially from Lindon Hale"

 

"Plus, you're a total babe" Jesy adds, as if it's a total normal thing. She moves her attention back to the machine and sighs.

 

"Do you know where Jordan is?" Aphrodite asks quickly, and she looks back at her, an eyebrow arched high.

 

"You're not into Jordan, are you?" Jesy asks, and Aphrodite's quick to shake her head and say no.

 

"Good" Jesy chirps, returning the smile she had on before. "I'm not sure where he is, he asks for the day off, which is why I'm here" Jesy grumbles a bit under her breath, and Aphrodite nods, striding over to the door.

 

"Alright, well it was nice talking to you. I better get going"

 

"See ya soon, Fro" Jesy says over her shoulder. As Aphrodite walks out the shop, Jesy turns around to waggle her fingers at Aphrodite and smile at her the whole way she's gone. So, maybe Aphrodite's not the only weird one.

 

Jordan's not picking up his phone so Aphrodite decides to do some more hours at the office because she's too bored at her room, and everywhere she goes, there's someone staring and whispering about her a bit too loudly. At the office, the clerk lady, Janine, smiles brightly at Aphrodite and waves.

 

"Hey sweetheart, here to help out some more?" She asks, and Aphrodite nods.

 

"Yeah, is there anything I can do?"

 

"Course; same thing as yesterday, file those files into alphabetical order. They're all a mess" Janine sighed in stress, frowning at the keyboard she was typing on.

 

"I thought I fixed them all yesterday" Aphrodite states, frowning at all the work gone to waste.

 

"Yes, well, between you and I, someone broke into the office after hours, obviously looking for a file and didn't even bother to clean up their mess" Janine whispers, her eyes darting around the empty office for any eavesdroppers, and Aphrodite looked down at her puzzled.

 

"Really? Are they gonna do anything about it?"

 

"Of course not, nothing was taken or ruined so they're not gonna do anything about it" Janine rolls her eyes, "They 'don’t have time'" Aphrodite laughs at that, and Janine cracks a smile.

 

"Go on in, I'll buzz the door open for you" Janine says, and Aphrodite wanders off to the door in the very back, and the handle buzzes once before clicking open. Inside everything's the same, but the files and cabinets are everywhere. This would definitely take her ages to fix. Aphrodite started off by taking all the papers and stacking them up together; It was a giant pile, and Aphrodite almost regretted coming to help, but at least she found out something new. Once the drawers were put back into the cabinets, and the separation dividers with letters in alphabetical order were placed in as well, Aphrodite started on putting each person back into their own file and putting them into their correct letter in the dividers. She went on at a good pace, and after a while, halfway into her work, the intercom above came on.

 

"You've been working for a while now in their hunny, why don't you come out here to join me for some tea" Janine's voice cackled from above, and Aphrodite jumped up, putting away the current file she had just finished putting together.

 

It was bright in the office compared to the file room, and blinded Aphrodite for a few seconds before she approached front desk. Janine grinned from the other side of the wall, and buzzed her in; Next to the desk was a door that clicked open, and Aphrodite slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. She pulled a chair from the back and sat up front with Janine.

 

"How's it going in there?" Janine asks, pouring some tea for her in a cup.

 

"Pretty good, halfway done" Aphrodite says when her cup is full.

 

"That's great, Fro. You don't know how much time you've saved me" Janine states, letting out a sigh in relief. Aphrodite grinned, taking a sip of the warm tea, and they fell into random conversation afterwards. It was nice talking to Janine, she was sweet and understood Aphrodite very well; She was like the grandmother Aphrodite had always wanted. They continued to talk for a good while, before the front door opened and in strolled in a tall boy, similar to Nick Grimshaw -who, Aphrodite had learned from reading his file, had failed grade 12 about two times, and was currently twenty, which is why he 'looks' so old-, approaching the front office. A pair of Aviators were perched on his nose, over his eyes, and his more curly hair was pushed back at the front. His attire is even similar to Nick's, with his even skinner black jeans with holes etched in by the knees purposely, graphic tee -that's also of Pink Floyd- and expensive boots.

 

"What a pleasant surprise Mister Styles, I reckon you want to be let off premises again?" Janine asks, setting down her cup. Harry smiles warmly at her, his tongue poking out from his thin top lip and full bottom one to swipe over them both.

 

"Always a pleasure to see you Janine" He nods briefly at her, his head turning towards Aphrodite afterwards, "But I'm actually here to speak to Aphrodite" He states, catching Aphrodite a bit off guard. More so, because he knows her full name when she's never told anyone her name, besides Janine, and that's because she saw her files, but settled for calling her Fro like Aphrodite liked. Janine turns towards Aphrodite, and raises a brow.

 

"You know Harry, Fro?" She asks, and Aphrodite hesitate, eyeing him as if somehow she'll recognize him any second now. She ends up shaking her head though.

 

"No" Aphrodite says, and Harry only smiles in a smug knowingly way.

 

"Alright, well don't you be getting her into any trouble, Harold" Janine scolds, and Harry frowns, his giant hand holding his chest where his heart belongs.

 

"That wounds me, Janine" Harry pretends to pout, and Janine cracks a smile, waving him off.

 

"You can go Aphrodite, you've helped more than I can ask, I'll be sure to update your hours" Janine tells her, taking Aphrodite's empty cup, and cleaning up. Aphrodite only watches her unsure of what to do. Harry waits on the other side patiently for Aphrodite, so she picks up her shoulder bag and slides it on before coming out to the front.

 

"'M Harry" He says in such a deep voice, Aphrodite wonders if it's even real.

 

"Fro" She states, making Harry grin.

 

"Aphrodite" He corrects her, and Aphrodite frowns. "Fro" She repeats.

 

"I like Aphrodite better" He says, and before Aphrodite can argue with him, he's taking her tiny hand in his giant one and pulling them to the front door. "Come, I need to talk to you"

 

Harry's hand is warm in hers, and she's surprised with the sudden contact, so she remains quiet and allows him to lead her out the office into the bright day. He's got incredibly long legs, so he strides effortlessly in quick movements, while Aphrodite stumbles to keep up with him. Harry notices at one point and chuckles.

 

"You're tiny" He comments and Aphrodite bites back a snarl.

 

"I've been told" She says instead. "Where are we going?"

 

"To talk" Harry says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and Aphrodite doesn't like his tone one bit. His eyes overlooks the full campus and his eyes are shielded by the black sunglasses but Aphrodite can faintly see them through the sun shining. Aphrodite's sort of praying no one notices her; nothing against Harry, but she wasn't into the attention, and holding hands with a gorgeous boy was just screaming for attention. At the reminder of the hand enlaced in hers, she tries to tug it free carefully, so it doesn't hurt Harry's feelings in any way, but as soon as Harry feels her trying to pull away, his grip tightens on her. Aphrodite is a bit taken back at the sudden action, and opens her mouth to speak up, but Harry's already ahead of her.

 

"I advise you to stop trying to let go of my hand, Aphrodite" Harry states calmly, a smug smile playing at his lips. Aphrodite frowns, and only tries to yank her hand away harder, forgetting to be nice about it.

 

"Let go, Harold" Aphrodite hisses, a frown evident on her face. A smirk quirks on Harry's face suddenly,

 

"I like it when you call me Harold" He states, and Aphrodite's a bit too disgusted to even respond.

 

"Let go, twat face" She says instead, and she can see Harry rolling his eyes, his smirk falling.

 

"No can do, sweet heart. Now stop, you're drawing attention to yourself, and I'm pretty sure you don't like attention" Harry says, like he knows already, and Aphrodite hates that he's right, so she looks around and notices there are people whispering and staring. She stops struggling, but people keep on staring and talking, so she tries to tear her hand away again.

 

"And for a moment, I thought you were going to actually correspond" Harry mutters, making Aphrodite angrier.

 

"I swear to God, Harry, if you do not let me go, I will scream. Loud" Aphrodite threatens, but her words don't faze Harry.

 

"No you won’t" He says, and Aphrodite raises a brow at him.

 

"Bet?" She asks. "Bet" He repeats, and as soon as the word is out his mouth, Aphrodite's screaming an ear pitching wail, so loud it's scared half the people around them, even Harry who jumps back, releasing her hand quickly. His giant hands are covering at his ears, and she stops screaming. Everyone's staring at her now, but Harry's released her, and she glares once at Harry before stomping off. Harry recovers quickly though, and jogs up to meet her fast strides.

 

"Was that necessary?" He hisses a lot closer to her now.

 

"You bet me" She reminds him, and Harry growls a bit under his breath in frustration.

 

"You're making me angry, Aphrodite" Harry states in a low voice, as he continues to match Aphrodite's quick pace.

 

"You're annoying me, Harold" Aphrodite snaps back, and when Harry smirks at the end, Aphrodite makes a sound of disgust.

 

"twat face" She adds, and Harry's glaring down at her again.

 

"Alright, that's enough" He states, stopping in his tracks, and grabbing roughly at Aphrodite's arm. She' moving at such a quick pace, when Harry grabs suddenly at her arm, she flies back against his body, but he catches her quickly. His arms are around her, and he feels warm and smells quite nicely. Too nicely for an asshole, Aphrodite thinks, but Harry interrupts her thoughts by picking her up. The world spins, and she's suddenly over Harry's shoulder, facing the ground.

 

"Harold" Aphrodite growls loudly, using her tiny hands to smack at his muscular back. It leaves no effect on Harry, and he's walking again like he doesn't have a girl over his shoulder who's trying to get free. People stare at them as they walk by, and Aphrodite's too embarrassed to react, so she stuffs her face into the back of Harry's shirt that smells of cigarettes and flowers, and wraps her arms around her face. She hears Harry say hello to people who greet him, and it makes her angry at how calm and happy he sounds. Soon enough, they stop walking, and Aphrodite's back on her feet. Harry's ahead of her though, and before she starts running, his arms around her waist like an iron grip.

 

"You're a piece of work, you know" He mumbles into her ear, his nose nuzzling into her loose hair. She swats him away, but he only chuckles before walking into one of the buildings.

 

"Where are we going?" She asks,

 

"With Perrie and Nick. I'd say the others' names but you don't know them yet" Harry says, and Aphrodite wishes he would've mentioned Perrie and Nick a long time ago, because then she wouldn't have had to been carried across campus. So she remains quite the whole elevator ride, and follows Harry down the empty halls. When they stop in front of a room, Harry knocks three times, stops, then knocks two more times, sliding his knuckles on the door before tapping at the door. Aphrodite scoffs besides him, and Harry peers down at her, curiously.

 

"What's so funny?" He asks.

 

"You act like you're in a bloody spy movie; Forcing me to come with you against my wall, having to be so dramatic, and not even tell me where to go, then do some type of weird code on a bloody door" Aphrodite snaps, scowling at the white door.

 

"I'm the dramatic one?" He asks, disbelief contorted into his face, and his jaw a bit slack. Aphrodite nods, and Harry shakes his head.

 

"You screamed like bloody mercy in the middle of campus, and refused to come with me until I had to carry you; I'm pretty sure you're the dramatic one" Harry states, frowning down at her. Aphrodite looks up at him to say something smart back, but the door opens before she can speak.

 

"Hey Harry" A chirpy voice from inside says when the door opens. When Aphrodite looks forward, she sees a tall blonde boy with bright blue eyes, piercings in his ears, and over his top lip; again another beautiful god, it just wasn't fair.

 

"Hey Niall, they all in there?" Harry asks, but Niall's eyes move over to Aphrodite and he grins.

 

"Ya must be Fro" Niall chirps instead; Aphrodite nods, and because Niall gives off such a radiant and nice vibe, she smiles at him.

 

"Yes, Niall right?" She asks, and Niall nods, sticking out his hand to her.

 

"Nice to meet ya" He says as Aphrodite takes his hand in hers, squeezing it softly before letting go and saying, "Well come on"

 

Inside, it's a lot bigger than Aphrodite's room, and the air is fogged up with smoke. Aphrodite wonders if there's a fire going on, but when they enter the living area, she sees a group of people, passing around several joints, answering Aphrodite's thoughts. When they enter the room, everyone turns towards her, and the mood seems to shift a bit.

 

"Finally" Perrie speaks up from in the middle of the group, and she's jumping up, striding over to Aphrodite.

 

"Hey!" She grins, embracing Aphrodite in a tight hug, which nearly knocks the air out her. Aphrodite returns the hug, and Perrie lets go of her, but holds on her shoulders.

 

"I'm so glad you could make it" Perrie exclaims, a bit too loud for how close they currently were.

 

"Well, Harold gave me no other choice" Aphrodite smiled sheepishly, and the room burst into fits of giggles.

 

"Harold?" A boy within the group asks, and Harry groans loudly from where he's standing behind Aphrodite. Aphrodite smirks a bit at that.

 

"It's his name, isn't it?" Aphrodite speaks out smugly, and the group smirks a bit at her.

 

"Anyways," Harry says suddenly, coming to my side, and sliding an arm around my shoulders, "Let's meet everyone. Yes, Aphrodite?" My name is full, and thick in his mouth and the smirks are aimed at me. Aphrodite places a sharp jab with her elbow at his ribs, and he winces before taking his hold off her.

 

"Sounds lovely" I chirp, and Perrie grabs my hand, and leads me over to the group.

 

"Fro, this is Liam, Danielle, Sophia, Louis, Eleanor, Stan, Cher, Josh, Zayn" She flutters a bit when she says Zayn's name, but he's too focused on rolling another joint to notice her, which makes Perrie falter a little; Aphrodite instantly feels bad for her. "And you know Nick" She finishes.

 

Nick's jumping up as soon as his name is said, he's in front of Aphrodite, grabbing her hand and placing a chaste kiss on the back like the night before.

 

"It's lovely seeing you again, Fro" He's saying in what Aphrodite assumes is his 'charming voice'. She laughs anyways like she's under it, and he grins at her reaction.

 

"I wasn't aware you two knew each other that way" Harry gruffs out behind them, and Aphrodite's stepping away from Nick.

 

"We don't" She insists, and Nick winks at her before returning to his place in between Zayn and Liam.

 

"How old are ya, Fro?" Sophia asks, smiling nicely up at her.

 

"I'm 17" Aphrodite answers, and they all smile at her like she's the child, which she probably is.

 

"Oh, too young for ya Nick, you'd probably get arrested" Louis giggles, nodding at Nick who waves him off, muttering something incoherently.

 

"Why'd you come here?" Liam asks suddenly, his puppy dog eyes trained on her, and Aphrodite realizes he's the most normal looking one compared to the others. The others, like Harry and Niall, the others were decked out in piercing and tattoos, but Aphrodite figured that was just their thing, so she doesn't question it; They're all attractive as well making Aphrodite feel a bit less sure of herself.

 

"I, um, transferred from Lindon Hale" Aphrodite says, coughing a bit to cover up the way her voice raised at the sentence, a bad habit Aphrodite inherited when she lied.

 

"I thought ya got kicked out" Niall says from behind her, and she's spinning in place quickly to look at Niall, and Harry's slapping his bicep just as quickly.

 

"Niall" He hisses quietly, and Niall's got these big blue eyes, wide from the confusion and hurt, Aphrodite feels pretty bad for him. She doesn't dwell on it for too long though, as the other sigh in frustration around them at Niall.

 

"What?" Niall whines, rubbing his sore arm.

 

"What makes you think that?" Aphrodite asks, her eyes trained on Niall. He's glancing at Harry, whose face is blank and free of emotion, before looking back at Aphrodite and shrugging.

 

"Was a rumor I heard, since ya came on such a short notice" Niall says, and Aphrodite would have fell for it, if it wasn't for the big screw up Niall slipped, and the way everyone was staring so intensely at Niall waiting to hear what he to say, then sighing in relief when the excuse was passable. Aphrodite nodded anyways like she believed them though,

 

"Oh" is all she says,

 

"Why'd you transfer?" Zayn asks, and she turns back forward to look at Zayn. He's in quite bliss, and his are glassy from the weed, yet he manages to look effortlessly beautiful, and intensely scary.

 

"Lindon Hale was full of ego filled kids who depended on their trust funds" Aphrodite says, because she knows the group will love the answer, considering their hatred for the school. They buy it as she planned, and even crack a smile at her.

 

"So, you don't depend on your trust fund?" Zayn asks, his poker face on, and yet to smile. Aphrodite's own smile falters a bit, but she shakes her head.

 

"It comes in handy, but it's not necessary" She says, and Zayn nods, but the look of approval never comes. Aphrodite's a bit let down, and she's not sure why it's so important to get his approval, or get him to at least smile, but it is.

 

"I like your jacket" She adds instead, and Zayn doesn't even glance at what he's wearing, but stares at Aphrodite for a long time. She's uncomfortable under his gaze, and no one’s there to help her because they're all waiting to see what Zayn has to say,

 

"Flatter gets you nowhere, princess" He finally says, and Aphrodite's frowning now. Everyone shifts awkwardly, and that pretty much just killed Aphrodite's comfort and confidence, so she nods, accepting what he just said, and squares her shoulders a bit more, because Aphrodite was not going to just wait for someone to back her up when she hardly even knew any of them. No one backed her up either, instead Perrie transitions them into a lighter topic about the piles of homework they have. Aphrodite's quiet after that, and Zayn's piercing stare doesn't leave her until after a while. Aphrodite doesn't even relax then.

 

-

 

When Harry returns her back to her dorm room, he stops her outside her door before allowing her in.

 

"Yes Harold?" She asks, too rude considering he'd been considering nice after the Zayn incident, but Aphrodite just wants to get into a long relaxing bath, and go to sleep.

 

"I'm sorry bout Zayn back there" He says, catching Aphrodite a bit off guard, as he rocks on the balls of his feet, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "He can be quite a dick to new people, but that's just because you have to earn his trust"

 

"I don't understand why you're apologizing, when he should be the one apologizing" Aphrodite says instead, frowning now. "I don't peg you as a person who apologizes often, and you definitely shouldn't start on someone else behalf" 

 

"Yeah, well Zayn's my friend-"

 

"Some kind of friend" Aphrodite interrupt quickly, and Harry shrugs

 

"You just need to get on his good side, then he'll start warming up" He insists, but Aphrodite's not having any of it. She shakes her head, and places a small hand on Harry's shoulder.

 

"If you're asking me to kiss arse to him, it's not gonna work" Aphrodite states, taking her hand off Harry's after giving it a gentle squeeze, "I don't plan to stay around you lot anyways" She adds, and Harry grins at that.

 

"I doubt that" He says, and he sounds so sure it makes Aphrodite unsure.

 

"Doubt it all you want, Harold, but I'm quite tired now. I hope to not see you tomorrow" She says, opening her room door and Harry laughs.

 

"I'll text you" He says,

 

"Don't have my number" Aphrodite says behind her shoulder as she walks into her room,

 

"Called myself on your phone when you were talking to Perrie" Harry answers, and Aphrodite turns around, her eyes a bit wide now.

 

"Are you serious?" She asks, and Harry chuckles before waving at her.

 

"See ya tomorrow" He states, before striding down the hall. A few girls walking past him, stop to stare and make moon eyes at him, and it takes all Aphrodite has to not scoff or laugh. She closes her door instead, and settles herself in a hot bath. It calms her down immediately, and she's in such bliss at the moment. When she gets out the bath, she dresses into her night wear before crawling into bed. When her head hits the pillow, her phone buzzes besides her.

 

"Goodnight Aphrodite (-; Xx -H" glows on her phone screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aphrodite's oufit: http://www.polyvore.com/high_waisted/set?id=104929694  
> bc I quite liked it haha. hope you enjoyed the chapter xx


	3. Chapter 3

Aphrodite.

 

The uniform laid out in front of Aphrodite wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be; The uniform consisted of a black pencil skirt, and since Aphrodite was so small it was pretty short, a button up white dress shirt, and a silver tie. There was a choice of wearing either an ugly black blazer with the school logo on the left breast side, or a dark grey sweater that also had the logo on it. Deciding against the blazer, Aphrodite chose the sweater and slid on her black knee length trench coat over it. When Aphrodite was dressed, and her hair was let down in neat curls touching her waist, she slid on her messenger bag and set out for the cafe. Aphrodite had planned on telling Jordan about her encounter with The Populars but decided against it, when she remembered Jordan had practically shut her out on Sunday, and as you can tell, Aphrodite's a very stubborn person. Hunger was over taking her mind though, and Jordan's cafe was the only cafe she was familiar with; Hopefully Jesy was there - wait, hopefully not. Jesy creeped her out as well. Inside the shop, bad luck dawned on Aphrodite as she saw both Jesy and Jordan inside. Jordan was working the counter, and Jesy was cleaning tables. Aphrodite contemplated on turning back around and going to classes on an empty stomach, but Jordan had already seen her, and he was jumping over the counter towards her before she could say anything.

 

"Fro!" He called out. Jesy looked up from where she was standing, and smiled that smuggish smile that creeped out Aphrodite.

 

"Hey Jordan" She mumbled, directing her attention to the floor as he approached her.

 

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday, I lost my phone. Still need to buy a new one" He frowned at the thought, and Aphrodite arched a brow at her. That was a pretty good reason to not call her, but he still hadn't looked for her.

 

"Where were you yesterday?" She asked instead,

 

"Community service" Jordan gruffs out, as he starts to walk back to the counter, jumping over and returning to his stand.

 

"You did community service?" Aphrodite scoffs, walking up to the counter but staying on the other side, a small smile playing at her lips.

 

"Had to, I had detention too" He says, and when Aphrodite gives him a puzzled look, he goes on "Got into a fight with some Aussie"

 

"Why?" Aphrodite asks quickly, concern replacing her confusion. "You're alright, right?"

 

"Course I am" Jordan scoffs, a bit of disbelief crossing his face, "Barely left anything on me, besides a bruise on my arm"

 

Aphrodite searched Jordan's face closely for any sign of marks or bruises, but his face showed none. Satisfied with that, she sighed in relief and nodded. From behind her, Jesy raised a brow at Jordan, who chose to ignore her.

 

"I finish classes at two today, do you want to go do something when I get out?" Aphrodite asks, hoping to get rid of the awkward silence. It does thankfully, and Jordan smiles.

 

"I'd love to, but I have classes afterwards" He says, and Aphrodite's smile falters but she nods.

 

"That's alright, well get me my usual before I'm late" Aphrodite chirps, and Jordan nods before making her mocha frappe, and putting her sandwich into a to-go bag, sneaking in a sugar cookie, because he knows Aphrodite likes those.

 

"That'll be 7.42 pounds" Jordan rings up her change due, which is obviously less than what she actually owes, but Aphrodite doesn't know that, and if she did she'd scowl at Jordan for trying to help her when she has loads of money, but Jordan doesn't tell her. Jesy's still watching, pretending to be occupied by tables and bleach cloths, and listening closely though from behind. She knows Aphrodite's actual charge is 12 pounds and something cents, but she chooses to stay silent, too amused in what she's watching to ruin it. Jesy watches Aphrodite bid goodbye when she gets back her change, and promise to text Jordan after he classes, and Jesy's too giddy with what she just witnessed, because Aphrodite might not be smitten with Jordan, but Jordan was definitely smitten with her. And Jesy couldn't wait to tell Zayn Malik.

 

-

 

 

Jesy was glad to get out of her God awful uniform, and she dressed in the cafe bathroom into her black tights and bright pink sleeve shirt, and boots. She adjusted the jewels she brought along, and redid her makeup in the mirror. When all was intact, Jesy put her work clothes in a bag and left it in her locker in the back. She entered the front, and approached the counter, where Jordan was, from the outside.

 

"Why'd you lie to your galfriend?" Jesy asks, smiling innocently from where she stood. Jordan looked up quickly, and frowned when he saw Jesy. It was obvious the two didn't like each other.

 

"I didn't lie to her" Jordan gruffed, keeping his eyes trained to the money he was currently counting, "I just didn't tell her everything" He adds.

 

"Sounds like lying to me" Jesy chirps, and Jordan doesn't fight back the irritated eye roll coming on.

 

"Go away Jesy, my hours being with you are through for today, and I'd rather not be around you any longer than needed"

 

"Ouch, that one hurt. Aren't you supposed to be some type of peacemaker, and be chill with everyone?"

 

"Go away Jesy"

 

"Alright, alright... How do you think your galfriend will react when she finds out you fought Stan?"

 

"She's not my girlfriend, and I doubt it will leave her any effect"

 

"Not true, Stan's her friend now" Jesy grins when Jordan looks up at her, confusion written over his face.

 

"What are you on?"

 

"Oh, I guess you're not the only one leaving information out then" Jesy grins wickedly before placing her manicured hand on the counter and drumming her fingers, the way Jordan hates it. He winces at the annoying sound, but doesn't say anything. "She was hanging out with Zayn's clique yesterday. Heard they even smoked a bit with her"

 

Jordan's feeling too shocked too even respond, and when Jesy realizes she's gotten the reaction she wants from him, and starts giggling, Jordan's angry.

 

"She doesn't even smoke and she's aware of the kind of trouble they cause" Jordan says quickly,

 

"You obviously don't know enough about her. I actually think you not telling her about Stan isn't so bad from what all she's kept from you, Jordan. Do you really know her that well? Ask her why she's here, yeah" Jesy's quick to reply

 

"She's here because she chose to transfer"

 

"Yeah, now ask her the real reason why" Jesy bites back and Jordan's run out of comebacks.

 

"There's a reason why you got kicked out of their group Jesy" He says, glaring down at tiny Jesy, "You just can't keep your mouth shut"

 

Jesy's not laughing anymore, but burning holes into his face with her eyes. She gets a tighter hold on her expensive purse before turning on her heels and stomping away. When the doors opened and she's walking out, she turns around to glare once more at Jordan.

 

"Zayn won't like that you're smitten with Aphrodite" She says coolly before exiting the cafe.

 

-

 

When Aphrodite's last class is over, she's in such a hurry to get out the building that she's almost tripping over her black heels. She doesn't get far before Jordan's jumping in front of her, scaring her,

 

"Jordan!" She screeches, jumping back quickly, as she tries to calm her heart rate. He chuckles lightly, but Aphrodite can tell the laughter doesn't reach his heart.

 

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you, but you were going pretty fast there" He says, inspected her closely and smiling a bit when he sees her uniform. "Where you headed off to?"

 

"To my room to get out of this uniform” Aphrodite says, looking down at her uniform in distaste. Jordan's frown is replaced by a smile and he chuckles again; this time it meets his eyes.

 

"You don't look that bad" He insists, but Aphrodite shakes her head.

 

"Don't you have classes right now?" She asks, and he nods "Well?" Aphrodite asks when he says nothing more.

 

"Don't feel like going, just gonna read the review online. You still up for doing something?" He asks, and Aphrodite grins before nodding.

 

"Yeah, what do ya have in mind?" She asks, and Jordan leads her out the building into the cold air.

 

"Surprise, come on let's go so you can change and then we can go" Jordan's at the stage with Aphrodite he doesn't feel the least bit shy with dropping a casual arm around Aphrodite's shoulders, and Aphrodite's mutual so she doesn't object; and when Aphrodite can feel Jordan's heart beating rather quickly through his jacket, she figures it's the cold rush.

 

Harry's watching from outside the building towards the side though, and he can probably figure that Jordan's heart is beating too quickly due to the fact Jordan's loving the fact he can have his arm around Aphrodite. Harry turns from his spot where he was originally waiting for Aphrodite, and goes down the steps, pulling out a shiny mobile form his pocket. He dials the usual number, and presses the cold device against his ear, watching Jordan and Aphrodite chatting as they huddle closer against the freezing air.

 

"Sup mate?" Zayn gruffs from the other line,

 

"Jesy's not lying" is all Harry says, and there's a silence from the other line. "Yeah, Jordan's definitely smitten with Aphrodite"

 

"This won't do" Zayn tsks from the other side, and Harry's not sure if he's happy with the fact that Zayn dislikes the growing affection Jordan has for Aphrodite just as much as he doesn't like it, or upset because that means Harry's going to be doing a lot more work now. "I need ya to do something for me, Hazza" Zayn says over the line, and once Aphrodite and Jordan disappear from sight, he's walking towards the direction of Zayn's building.

 

"Of course" Harry mumbles against the cold air and Zayn chuckles from the other side.

 

"I need some dirt on Jordan"

 

-

 

In order for Jordan's surprise to go through, Aphrodite had to convince Janine to let them off campus, and that really wasn't that hard as long as Aphrodite promised to be back before curfew, so they were let off campus, and currently in a yellow cab. Aphrodite nagged Jordan throughout the whole ride, demanding to know where they were going but Jordan couldn't be cracked. He remained smug and silent the whole ride while Aphrodite begged and promised things to get information from him. It was quite amusing, and worth it as they stopped in front of their designated stop. Aphrodite was pretty much lost of words, but regained them quickly.

 

"Oh Jordan!" She cried, embracing him in a tight hug before jumping out the cab. They had stopped at a drive in movie, something that used to be unchecked on Aphrodite's bucket list.

 

"It looks so cool!" Aphrodite cried, and Jordan tipped the driver before pulling her towards the tiny concession stand selling food. They bought two tiny rectangle boxes of popcorn and some drinks; Aphrodite also got a hot dog, and begged Jordan to buy one as well because she didn't want to feel like a "starving fatsome". Jordan laughed at that, but got one as well. They sat down in the bleachers behind the cars since they didn't have a car, but there was random people also sitting in them, so they settled in, and watched a black and white movie of a woman who kills her husband with lamb chop because he decided to break up with her. It was pretty great if you asked Aphrodite, so she was pretty content and when the movie ended she whined about wanting to watch another one. Curfew was coming close so Jordan had to deny her so they could come again another time. With that Aphrodite and Jordan hauled another taxi and went back to campus. Janine snuck them back inside, and they all laughed once they were on campus.

 

"Thanks Janine" Aphrodite had said when she turned around to bid her goodnight.

 

"No problem hun, you kids are young for only so long, there's no sense in keeping you all locked up here" Janine insists, and she smiles before hugging the teenagers and bidding them goodnight. She locks up the office and waves to the kids before going to her car parked in the staff lot and driving off. Jordan and Aphrodite wave from inside the gate before Jordan walks Aphrodite back to her building.

 

"I had fun" Jordan says, and Aphrodite grins.

 

"Me too, thanks Jordan" Aphrodite hugs Jordan goodnight before waving and going inside her building. Jordan stays outside for a while, watching her get into the elevator from outside the glass walls. Aphrodite catches sight of him through the glass wall, and laughs before waving again. He waves back until the elevator doors close and she's going up. Only then does he walk to his building.

 

Aphrodite doesn't take notice to the fact her door knob is already unlocked, as she stuffs her key in the hole and unlocks it again; she too happy and chilly as she rushes into her room, locking it behind her. Inside it's pitch black, and she flicks on the hallway lights as she hangs her coat into the closet. Aphrodite makes her way into the kitchen, and since she doesn't do much shopping but instead goes out to eat, she boils a pot of water on the stove to make soup in, and also starts the kettle. Plus, she's not all that hungry from the popcorn and hot dog. As the water boils in both pot and kettle, she makes her way back to her room to dress in comfortable clothes. She's not expecting to see Harold laying there on her bed, flipping through one of Aphrodite's many scrap books of photos she's took. She screams in surprise, and Harry winces in his spot but doesn't move.

 

"Bloody Hell, Harold!" She cries, stomping over and snatching the book from his hands. "You scared the hell out of me!"

 

"Sorry" Harry shrugs, sitting up and examining her wall of pictures. "You've got talent" He says, and Aphrodite's anger leaves for a moment, as she blushes under the compliment. "And good music taste" He adds, beckoning towards her iHome, playing one of Aphrodite's playlists quietly. She's mellowing under his words, but snaps out of it quickly.

 

"How the hell did you get in here?" She asks

 

"I have connection" is all Harry says, Aphrodite's about to say something else but Harry beats her. "Have fun at the movies?" he asks, and Aphrodite's creeped out now.

 

"How'd you know?" She asks,

 

"Your boy isn't the sneakiest" Harry grins, jumping up and striding into the kitchen. Aphrodite remembers about her soup, and the kettle's whistling a pitch now so she takes the time to calm her thoughts and fix what's on the stove. When the soup's in the pot, and she's took her kettle off the stove, she turns towards Harry whose sitting on the counter opposite of her. He looks so out of place in Aphrodite's tiny place, with his gigantic self and it makes Aphrodite giggle slightly as she stares at him.

 

"What?" Harry asks, raising a brow at her as she shakes her head, crossing her arms across her chest, a fond smile on her lips.

 

"What is it?" Harry asks again,

 

"You're so.. big" Aphrodite says, searching for the right word, obviously she's picked the wrong one when Harry smirks.

 

"So I've been told" He winks, and Aphrodite's in immediate disgust. Her smile's replaced with a scowl, and she turns around quickly to her food.

 

"You're filthy, Harold" She spits, turning the soup with a spoon.

 

"And I love it when you call me that" Harry chimes, jumping off the counter to stride over to her.

 

"Tell me again why you're here" Aphrodite says, putting aside the spoon and turning towards him. "It's after hours, we could get into loads of trouble" She says knowingly, a bit more scared now.

 

"Like you care what kind of trouble you get in" Harry scoffs, and it's simple comment but Aphrodite can tell there are heavy meanings behind it, and her guard's up now.

 

"What're you trying to say?" She asks, crossing her arms again. Harry's an arm’s length away from her now, and he grins.

 

"You know, Fro. I mean, you can't really forget what happened at Lindon Hale, or Seguin Academy" Harry smiles wickedly, stepping closer, and a look of horror strikes Aphrodite.

 

"How do you know?" She asks, her jaw gone slack now.

 

"Connections" is all Harry has to say, but Aphrodite knows. The files were a mix up not too long ago, and Niall knew she had gotten kicked out of Lindon Hale, they all knew. They had broken into the office in search for information on her. As the pieces fit together in Aphrodite's mind, and she's switching face expression so quickly, Harry's tempted to laugh.

 

"You broke into the office!" Aphrodite finally exclaims, and Harry snorts of laughter because honestly? Does she really think he's that stupid to do the dirty work himself.

 

"Did not" He says though, keeping it short and mysterious because he knows the argument will get a rise out of Aphrodite.

 

"Yes, you did" Aphrodite accuses.

 

"Did not" Harry chimes louder, and chirpier.

 

"How are you just going to stand there and lie to me?" Aphrodite spits, looking angrier than scared now; Harry's relishing it.

 

"I lie all the time, darlin" He says, closing the space between them as he took one easy step towards her. Aphrodite's running from him though, and since she's so tiny she escapes his attempt to catch her. She's on the other side of the small table, and Harry's ready to go either way she runs.

 

"But you did!" She says,

 

"You think I'd do the dirty work myself?" Harry asks, and Aphrodite considers that, deep in thought, and Harry's coming from the left side towards her; Aphrodite screeches when she sees him, running towards the right. They last a while, running around the apartment, and Harry's objective isn't to hurt Aphrodite, but it's funny to watch her run and get scared, especially since he can tell Aphrodite's not an athletic person. He's quick as well, so he catches her in the hall, wrapping two giant arms around her midsection. Aphrodite's screaming though, like he's going to hurt her, in loud wails that are making Harry's ears throb.

 

"Will ya stop screaming?" Harry says, wincing at how his ears are pounding now, "You'll get us in trouble" He adds quickly. Aphrodite only stops for a moment before screaming again. Harry sighs in frustration before tossing her carefully over his shoulder again. He's taking her back into the kitchen and easing her into one of the chairs. He almost gets hit in his glory spot by Aphrodite's foot, but he catches it in time.

 

"There, I let you go" He says quickly, and she stops. "Finally" He sighs in relief, and Aphrodite's glaring at him.

 

"Twat face" She mutters, and Harry's rolling his eyes, deciding to let that one go.

 

"I'm not going to hurt you" He says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, but Aphrodite's finding that hard to believe. She remains silent, so Harry finishes making her soup, and fixes her tea, two spoons of sugar and extra vanilla just like she likes it. Aphrodite doesn't want to even know how he knows, because she knows for a fact that the way she takes her tea isn't in her school file, but she's done questioning or underestimating Harry now. He places her soup in a bowl, and places it in front of her with a spoon, and pours tea into a cup, also placing it in front of her. He takes a seat in front of her, and Aphrodite continues to stare at him,

 

"Staring is rude" Harry reminds her, but she ignores what he says and continues. "What? He asks.

 

"You're psychotic" is all she says before she's eating. Harry watches her for a while, before she looks up at him, he's looking away quickly though, his cheeks red in embarrassment and Aphrodite has to stop herself from smiling.

 

"Staring is rude" She says, and Harry smiles a genuine smile. Aphrodite takes notice this, a genuine smile with no teeth from Harry, involved his dimples. She reaches over quickly, and pokes the pad of her index finger into one of the indents and he's looking at her crazy. She can't help the grin that comes over her, and she's giggling loudly. Harry's face relaxes and he's smiling at her again.

 

"You're psychotic as well" is all he says, before it turns silent again, but the mood has shifted into something somewhat calmer. When Aphrodite finishes, she offers to make Harry soup, but he insists he's not hungry, and when she offers him tea, he refuses it as well. He helps her wash the dishes instead, and it's a comfortable silence as she washes and he rinses; they both dry the plates together and when it's all put away, Aphrodite's cornering Harry again.

 

"Why're you here again?" She asks curiously, and Harry grins before striding over to the coat closet and sliding on his trench coat.

 

"Just wanted to see what it was like to spend some time with you" He says, and Aphrodite's sure her jaw's hit the floor. "Not what I imagined, but it went a lot smoother than I had thought"

 

"You chased me for twenty minutes while I screamed my head off" Aphrodite reminds him when she finds the will to speak again. He chuckles quietly before shrugging.

 

"It's a memory" He says, and Aphrodite's softening as her crossed arms fall to her side. She's got this happy dazed face that's turning into a smug grin, and Harry confused now. "What?" He asks, and Aphrodite laughs quickly before crossing her arms again.

 

  
"Are you turning soft Harry Styles?" She asks, and Harry scoffs loudly, and she can tell he's trying hard not to blush as he's raking a large hand through his curls.

 

"Course not" He insists, "I'll see you tomorrow, Aphrodite" He says quickly,

 

"You sound sure, Harold" She says, and Harry's grinning again.

 

"I'm always sure, darlin" He insists, before waving at her and exiting the flat. Aphrodite approaches the door, making double sure it's locked, and she definitely does not smile on her way back to her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whut did i do? feedback please? Xx


	4. Chapter 4

Aphrodite.

 

 

 

  Aphrodite had become quite accustom to the life styles at Mayword Academy, and she practically gone through the same routine every day; Wake up, shower and get ready, go to the cafe to pick up breakfast and chat with Jordan, school until two, back home to change and wait until Jordan got out of classes to go to his room and kill time doing random things until curfew. Most of the time, Harry waited with Aphrodite until Jordan got out of classes. Harry had learned to be a lot calmer with Aphrodite, and she had learned to think before throwing an insult at him; she still wasn't sure why Harry would show up in the most random places and stay with her until she left to meet up with Jordan, but Harry did. It had been three days since Harry shown up at her apartment, and he'd been around a lot more after that. Between the hours of passing periods of classes, Harry was there to walk her, and from when classes ended to when Jordan was available to hang out, Harry was also there. Aphrodite was used to seeing him just about anywhere that she hadn't even questioned it or been surprised anymore. She'd be at the library studying or reading, and Harry would suddenly be there as well, holding an copy of the book she was reading, and criticizing it until Aphrodite gave up, and picked up a random conversation with Harry, or she would be at her room putting together mix tapes or playlists, and Harry would walk into her flat with his own key and join her at her desk to listen to her work. Often times, she'd be around the campus, snapping pictures of anything that interested her, and Harry would jump into a shot she'd find, and pose in a ridiculous matter. Over the three days, she had also grown quite fond of Harry, only when he wasn't being overly annoying or disgusting, and looked forward to his visits. She still had yet to tell Jordan though. It's not like she was still mad at him, but she just couldn't find herself to tell him. Jordan had clearly made his point of displeasure he had for the group later in the week, when she had almost tried to tell him, and since then she's decided to not tell him. She kept silent.

 

 

  So, as she stood in the vintage shop, also ran by students, that sold old and new cameras, she was half expecting Harry to pop up from somewhere. She hadn't realized how long she was waiting, until a familiar face was standing in front of her suddenly.

 

 

"You ok there, Fro?" Nick chuckled, crossing his arms over his torso. Aphrodite blushed a crimson red, before nodding quickly,

 

 

"Yeah, uh sorry, my mind was just a bit off" She said, and Nick nodded as if he understood.

 

 

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He asks, smiling in amusement down at her.

 

 

"Yes, um I need to get some film developed, do you do that?" Aphrodite asked, her eyes growing wide with hope.

 

 

"Yeah, it's pretty expensive though" He says, and he glances down at her once more, before scoffing "Never mind" He says afterwards. Aphrodite's not sure if he meant to sound so annoyed with the fact she surely had enough money, but he did and she frowned, a bit hurt. If Nick notices how hurt she was, he doesn't say, instead he starts walking towards the back,

 

 

"Follow me" He adds over his shoulder. Aphrodite does, and they're entering the back that leads to a hallway with three doors on each side. He stops at the one at the very end to his left, and goes inside. It's glowing red, and freezing cold inside, but Aphrodite keeps her mouth shut. When they're inside, Nick's shutting the door behind them and turning towards her.

 

 

"The film?" He asks, and from his tone and bored expression, Aphrodite knows he's in a bad mood. She hands over the film quickly so he doesn't wait any longer. Nick examines the film briefly before starting his work. Aphrodite fins a vacant spinning chair in the corner and takes a seat. Nick ignores her while he works, so she pulls out her phone, and turns down the brightness before texting Harry.

 

 

**Where are you? -F**

 

 

 

His reply takes a while, and Aphrodite's staring at her screen impatiently as his message opens up

 

 

**Missing me already? (-; Xx -H**

 

 

 

Aphrodite scoffs quietly, and Nick glances at her sneakily and she's already looking down at her phone, texting back

 

 

**Course not, just a bit curious since you happen to be everywhere -F**

**Sure, I'm currently busy though. I'll see you in about 15 minutes -H**

 

Aphrodite's ready to type something smart back about how he can be sure if he won't even know, but then Aphrodite remembers, he will know, so she decides not to reply back. She plays Candy Crush for a while, and when she's on a complete roll, Nick's voice calls out in front of her

 

 

"Is this Harry?" He asks, a bit surprised Aphrodite notices. She looks up, and strides over to where Nick's looking down at one of the photos that had just been colored in. She smiles at the goofy picture of Harry standing in front of the school's statue of John F. Kennedy, imitating the stature's pose in a funny matter, and nods.

 

 

"Yeah, why?" She asks, and Nick's staring hard at the picture for a while, before shaking his head.

 

 

"Wasn't sure" He says, and Aphrodite decides to drop it because Nick's snarky attitude is coming back, so she retakes her eat. When Nick's done, he's leading them back to the front, and ringing up her price. He places the picture in a manila envelope and Aphrodite hands over some bills, and since he's been so rude she adds "Keep the change". Nick doesn't hold back a glare at her, as she swipes the envelope from his hand and strutting out the shop. She makes a mental note to not go back to that shop again.

 

 

 

  Aphrodite's hanging up her photos on a bare wall, and she's staring at some of the dozens of photos that Harry's in, contemplating whether to put them up or not. Aphrodite's quite proud of the shots, but if Harry saw them up there, and he will sooner or later, he'll always make cheeky remarks of them. She decides he'll find ways to make cheeky remarks anyways, so she tacks them up as well. Harry shows up at her flat, letting himself in, fifteen minutes later, while Aphrodite's at her desk, trying to create a catchy music tune on her laptop; Aphrodite can't sing for her life, but she enjoys creating music and sometimes lyrics to go with them.. She doesn't even turn around when Harry pulls out the second chair and scoots over to where Aphrodite is.

 

 

"What're you doin?" He asks, and Aphrodite pauses the soft melody playing from her laptop.

 

 

"Creating some music" She says, and he nods thoughtfully.

 

 

"Those don't ever bore you?" He asks, and Aphrodite shakes her head, not taking her eyes off the screen.

 

 

"Oh" Harry mumbles, "How come you're always making music but no lyrics? I'd understand if it were some techno or upbeat club mix but they're all soft" Harrys asks

 

 

"I do, but I can't sing for my life, so I stick to the music making" She says, and Harry ohs again before falling silent. She eyes him from the corner of my eye before smiling softly.

 

 

"Can you sing Harry?" She asks, and Harry shakes his head. "Nope" He says,

 

 

"Can you try?" Aphrodite tries, and Harry's shaking his head again. "Nope" He repeats. Aphrodite frowns,

 

 

"Please?" She asks, and he's shaking his head again. "Pretty please!" She exclaims.

 

 

"No"

 

 

"With sprinkles on top"

 

 

"Don't like sprinkles"

 

 

"But you're a cupcake"

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

"Nothing. Please?!"

 

 

"No, Aphrodite"

 

 

"Come onnnn"

 

 

"No"

 

 

"I'm gonna die if you don't" She exclaims, and Harry chuckles softly as she turns towards him, clasping her hands together and continuing to beg.

 

 

"I'll die, and when you're at my funeral leaving me daisies you'll cry because I died all because you didn't sing for me" Aphrodite insists, and Harry's staring at her very serious face for a while before bursting into loud laughter. He's doubled over and fallen onto Aphrodite's bed, clutching his stomach as loud giggles escape his red lips. Aphrodite's lip twitches into a smile as she watches Harry laugh. He looks much younger, less scarier, and a lot more happier this way, and Aphrodite's tempted to go on so she can see him laugh some more, but Harry's sitting up, his laughter dying down slowly until it's all gone. His eyes glance at Aphrodite before he giggles and looks off, until he notices the new wall of pictures. He notices his face within them quickly. He's off the bed, and striding over to them in big easy steps.

 

 

"You got them printed?" Harry asks, and Aphrodite nods as she watches him observe the pictures closely. He laughs at the ones he's in, and smiles thoughtfully at her own photos she's took. In the very middle, there's a photo of both of them, one Harry took himself, and got the angle so wrong, but it's still of both him and her, cheek to cheek flushed from the cold, and smiling into the camera. Harry grins before tapping at that one,

 

 

"I like this one" He says, and Aphrodite cranes her neck to look at which one he's talking about. She blushes when she sees it, and shrugs

 

 

"Me too" She says, and he's back into the seat next to her. "So about that singing" He says quietly, and Aphrodite grins

 

 

"Yes!" She exclaims, and Harry rolls his eyes, but can't stop the smile coming on. Aphrodite saves her work on her laptop, before changing the track, and jumping out her chair. She's rummaging through her closet before she comes back with a guitar case and lyric sheets and sits into her seat. Harry eyes the guitar, and smiles before saying "Is there anything you can't do?"

 

 

"I can't cook" She says, and he laughs at that, "Oh, I know" He says, and she knows he's referring to the hot dog she ruined yesterday. She ignores that, and gets out her guitar before placing it comfortably in her laps; she’s tuning it into perfection before handing Harry the lyric sheets.

 

 

"There's not specific pace or rhythm since I haven't even tried it myself. I want to see how you would sing it, so I can rearrange it and what not" She says, and Harry nods, eyeing the sheet before sighing.

 

 

"Promise not to laugh?" He asks, and she's smiling fondly at him. "Is Harry Styles nervous?" She giggles, and he rolls her eyes and she promises not to laugh, holding out a tiny pinky that Harry links with his own giant one. Aphrodite sets up an audio recorder on her laptop, and since Harry's too busy looking at the sheets, she also turns on the one on her IPod, and starts the music of a simple piano and drums. Aphrodite's guitar doesn't come in until later, so she beckons Harry to start and he's singing the lyrics laid out for him. Harry was a liar, is the first thing to come into Aphrodite's mind as he's tumbling out the first line. It comes out a bit awkward since he's nervously looking back and forth from the sheet and Aphrodite who's giving him encouraging smiles. He eases eventually when Aphrodite places a tiny hand on his knee, and feels his whole body shaking. It's a new sight, Harry being so nervous and embarrassed, but it's a nice sight so she smiles lovely at Harry. The first pitch is within the first two minutes, and Harry can tell, so he's belting out the end of the second stanza, Don't Let Me, Don't Let Me, Don't Let Me Go, and it's beautiful in Aphrodite's ears. Her guitar picks up afterward, and she's strumming the chords along as Harry's continuing to sing.

 

 

"Cause I'm tired of feeling alone; I promised you one day I'd catch you a star, I caught one and it burned a hole in my haaand, ooh. It seems like these days, I watch you from afar, just trying to make you understand. I'll keep my eyes wide open" and Harry's belting out again, "Don't Let Me, Don't Let Me, Don't let me go, cause I'm tired of feeling alone."

 

 

 

Aphrodite's always been an emotional person, but she's also been very well at keeping them hidden. She doesn't know what eggs her on to make her eyes water up, but they start to, and it's not because she's sad or mad, but because Harry's just singing so beautifully, she forgets all the reasons why she would ever want to be annoyed or mad with him. He's into the song now, and she blinks back tears of happiness quickly, because if he saw them, he'd stop surely stop singing. The songs over sooner than she's hoping, and Harry's peaking up at her. She's setting aside her guitar quietly, before lunging at Harry, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck tightly. Harry's a bit taken back, but laughs before wrapping his big arms around her waist.

 

 

"You alright there, Aphrodite?" He asks, and she's nodding into his neck. She's forcing the hot tears to stay back, but they refuse and a single one slips past, and touches Harry's warm neck that smells something of cologne and Aphrodite's idea of home. "Are you- Are you crying?" He asks, pulling away quickly to look at her. The piano and drums have repeated from the laptop and it's softly playing there in the background, only welling up more tears in Aphrodite's eyes, and Harry's so confused now. Was it that bad?

 

 

"That was so beautiful" Aphrodite says instead, choking up at the very end. Harry doesn't know whether to smile or not, but he does and his cheeks are turning red, making Aphrodite smile. She chokes on a laugh from the overwhelming emotions.

 

 

"You're so crazy" Harry says, and she laughs a bit more clearer now, "I know" is all she says before Harry's chuckling. Aphrodite stops both recordings, and makes sure to save them both. She turns off the audio of the piano and drums, and sets away the guitar and sheets in her closet before sitting down in front of Harry again.

 

 

"So, do you always cry this easily?" He asks to break the silence, and Aphrodite scoffs before shrugging.

 

 

"Not in front of people, no" She says, and he nods.

 

 

"I'm awful tired, lay with me" He says, standing up and dropping himself in Aphrodite's bed. He scoots back to make room for her, and even though she'll be able to fit the tiniest places, he scoots back until he's touching the wall. Aphrodite doesn't object, but instead crawls onto the bed to lay down next to him. She's on her back though, and looking up at the wall, as Harry lays on his shoulder to stare at Aphrodite.

 

 

"I thought you said you couldn't sing" Aphrodite says, continuing to stare up at the wall. Harry continues to stare at her as well,

 

 

"I can't" He insists, and Aphrodite scoffs, turning her head to look at him. "That's a lie" She says,

 

 

"I used to be in a band" Harry says, and Aphrodite arches a brow at him, "Really?" She asks, and he nods.

 

 

"White Eskimo" He says, and Aphrodite wants to laugh at the name, but Harry's not smiling and he looks so deep in thought, Aphrodite infers that this is a touchy subject, so she stays quiet. "We were alright I guess, made the band before I came here around the age of sixteen. We won a lot of battles between bands, and got a lot of money. We were pretty sure we were good, but when we tried to get noticed, we met up with this big famous manager, and he rejected us right away. Laughed at us, and said that'd we'd only be good for fifteen minutes and that'd only be because of our faces, and that our voices hadn't even matured yet" Harry's talking slower than usual, and his voice is huskier than usual as well; Aphrodite doesn't remember when Harry's voice had begun affecting her, but suddenly it was but she was too focused on the sad look Harry had on to notice. "My mom enrolled me into this school anyways, so our band was broken up, and I guess I just stopped singing after that"

 

  Aphrodite wants to lean over and wrap Harry into a giant hug and tell him that the famous manager was wrong and that Harry was an incredible singer, but she doesn't feel comfortable enough to do that, so she sighs and places a soft hand on Harry's cheek. "Well, he's obviously deaf. You sing like a damn angel to me" She says instead, and Harry cracks a smile at that.

 

 

"Thanks" He mumbles, and they lay that for some time. Aphrodite doesn't remember when the moods shifted to a more comfortable one, but it does and they’re laying there for some time, just staring at each other, smiling when they realize how ridiculous they look. They don't move though, and it's not until Aphrodite's phone is ringing in her pocket does she move. She pulls her phone out her pocket without taking her eyes off Harry, and they smile when she answers without taking her eyes off him still.

 

 

"Hello?" She asks when the phone is pressed against her ear.

 

 

"Hey Fro!" Jordan chirps from the other side, and Aphrodite's pulled back into reality. She's up and standing quicker than Harry could react, and she's completely ignoring Harry as she speaks into the phone,

 

 

"Oh hey J" She says as calmly as she can. Harry's sitting upright on her bed now, watching her closely.

 

 

"What're ya doing?" Jordan asks from the other line,

 

 

"Oh not much" Aphrodite lies, her eyes trained on Harry whose pretending to not pay attention.

 

 

"Great, come over. I just got Mean Girls" He chirps, and Aphrodite smiles at that.

 

 

"Alright, I'll see you soon, bye"

 

 

"Bye, see you in a bit" Aphrodite shuts off her phone, and shoves it into her pocket, sighing loudly afterwards. When she turns towards Harry, he's already striding out the room. She follows him into the hallway that leads to the front door and watches as he slides on his coat.

 

 

"Bye Harry" She says behind him as he opens the door. He turns around from where he's standing, and leans against the open door.

 

 

"Don't say bye" He says, and she's confused at what he's just said, but he speaks up before she asks what he means, "Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting. I don't want you to forget me"

 

  That had to have probably been one of the smartest things Harry's ever said, and he doesn't regret it as Aphrodite's jaw slacks a bit, just like she first did when Harry had opened up for the first time to her. She's smiling idiotically again though,

 

 

"See ya soon, Aphrodite" Harry says, "See you soon, Harold" She chirps, and Harry holds back a small before waving, and exiting her flat. The door closes after him, and Aphrodite's too confused to move, so she stands there dumbfounded until her phone buzzes in her pocket.

 

 

**Hurry up, I'm bored! Xx -J**

 

 

 

Aphrodite chuckles at Jordan's message, but heads back her room, typing a message on the way.

 

 

**Sorry, don't feel up to movies right now. A bit tired, I'll see you tomorrow though xx -F**

 

 

 

Aphrodite showers, and dresses for bed before putting her ear buds into her ears and putting Harry's voice on loop on her IPod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk, i like fluff :p xx


	5. Chapter 5

 Aphrodite.

 

 

 

"Come on Fro, you'll love it!" Jordan insisted, looking up at Aphrodite, taking his eyes off the sand which he was putting together for her. Aphrodite kept her eyes on her magazine she was skimming through, and dropped her feet onto the table top she was seated in front of.

 

 

"Doesn't seem like my type of party" She told Jordan, and Jordan frowned.

 

 

"It is though!" He exclaimed, "You'd love it"

 

 

"Yunno, I usually hate arguing with Jordan," Jesy stated, looking over at us from where she was mopping on the other side of the shop, "But he's right. It's the party of the year; you're gonna love it"

 

 

"See!" Jordan exclaimed, waving his hands at Jesy, who rolled her eyes at him. Aphrodite glanced at them above her magazine and chuckled.

 

 

"Doesn't seem like your type of party either, Jay" Aphrodite told Jordan,

 

 

"I'm the eyes and ears of this campus Fro, I know everything, and I’m in charge of everything. I have to go to this party, get in with all that's going. Everyone on campus is going" Jordan told her, and Fro shook her head at him. "If I'm going to run more than 10 of the campus' organizations then I kinda have to know everything"

 

 

"That's true" Jesy chirped, "Jordan knows everything" Jesy smiled an unknown smile at Aphrodite, and Aphrodite could sense it meant a lot more than what she was saying. Aphrodite sat up, abandoning the magazine on the table top as she tried to escape Jesy's smug smile and stare. "He even has his own website" She added, and when Aphrodite gave Jordan a questioning look, he pointed to the multi colored flyers on display at the counter. Aphrodite didn't know how she ever missed it, but there on the flyer was Jordan's own website, even with a catch phrase that said "Get In or Get Out". She wasn't sure if she laugh at it, but from Jordan's serious face, she knew she shouldn't.

 

 

"Everyone's going?" Aphrodite asked, clearing her throat to try and chase away any of the awkwardness that had formed. Jordan had of course caught on, because there isn't a thing he misses, but he chose to leave it alone. He nodded instead,

 

 

"So will you go?" He asked, hope rising in him, and reaching his chocolate brown eyes to give Aphrodite a puppy dog face. She laughed at his attempt, but nodded.

 

 

"Yeah, I'll go Jordan" Aphrodite said, and Jordan grinned. He glanced at the clock wall, and cursed quietly under his breath, tossing off his apron.

 

 

"I'm late" He exclaimed as he rushed into the back room.

 

 

"Class?!" Aphrodite asked, and he yelled back something that sounded like a yes then a smash followed by a string of cursed words. Jordan came out from the back, his shoulder bag around his torso, and bouncing up to the front door as he rubbed his ankle.

 

 

"I thought I told you to get those boxes moved, Jesy" Jordan hissed, and she rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

 

 

"I'll get to it" She said, going back to her mopping. He rolled his eyes, but ignored her.

 

 

"See you later, by the way party's tomorrow night!"

 

 

"What?! You couldn't have told me sooner?!"

 

 

"Sorry sweet cheeks, I'll catch ya after classes" and Jordan was gone. Aphrodite sighed in frustration, but Jesy giggled quietly behind her. Aphrodite chose to ignore her, and thankfully the sound of her cellular distracted her. She pressed the phone against her ear, and moved to the counter to create some distance between her and Jesy. Aphrodite was only more than half expecting for Harry to be the one on the other side of the phone, so she didn't want Jesy to hear any of that. What surprised her was that instead of Harry's deep, grave voice on the sound device, was Perrie's pitchy voice.

 

 

"Hey Fro!" She exclaimed.

 

 

"Hey Perrie" Aphrodite tried her best to match Perrie's enthusiasm but it was hard when the girl seemed to run on thousands of gallons of energy shots.

 

 

"So, I don't have anything to wear for tomorrow's party at the frat houses, and I assumed you didn't either. Want to go out to the shops?" Perrie asked. Aphrodite was ready to ask how she knew that she was going when Aphrodite had just agreed to go less than ten minutes ago, but Aphrodite had learned to stop questioning these people. Everyone knew everything around here apparently, even Aphrodite's only somewhat normal friend, Jordan. Well he didn't know everything, at least, Aphrodite hopes not.

 

 

"I'd love to; I don't think I'm doing anything tomorrow.. Well, I have classes. I can't miss those, maybe after?" Aphrodite mumbled, trying to jog her brain of any other plans for tomorrow morning until the party of course.

 

 

"It's Saturday tomorrow, Fro" Perrie stated in the most obvious voice, it wasn't mean though. She giggled lightly through the device, and I sighed. "Idiot" Aphrodite mumbled, jamming my palm against her forehead.

 

 

"It's alright, Fro" She giggled some more, "I'll pick you up at 1. Kisses!" and the line went dead.

 

 

"Very smooth, Fro" Aphrodite muttered to myself, grabbing her bag and magazine from the table top. She waved Jesy goodbye who was on her phone, before leaving. When Aphrodite got back to her flat, she didn’t find it all too shocking that it was already unlocked; Harry always made it to her flat before she did when he decided to come over. Aphrodite shrugged off her coat and left it to hang in the closet before walking into the kitchen where Harry was working in front of the stove. There were a pair of ear buds stuck into his ear, drowning him out from any other sound as he swayed along to the music, and fixing the stove temperature as he worked on a plate of food that Aphrodite couldn’t make out at the moment. She strode over to him, taking out the headphones that were in his ears.

 

“Back so soon?” He chirped, not taking his eyes off his work.

 

“I never stay out long” Aphrodite insisted, Harry only shrugged though. Aphrodite took in his silence after he put back in one of his ear buds, and she sat down on the counter besides the working stove, sitting Indian style. She picked up the cook book that was open besides her, and skimmed across the page. Harry must’ve gone grocery shopping, because Aphrodite can’t remember having the ingredients for those food choices.

 

“Are you making pasta?” She asked, and he nodded, “What’s the occasion?”

 

“Nothing just got hungry. Figured you would be too, all you eat is sandwiches” He pokes her stomach lightly, and she flinches before laughing quietly and smiling.

 

“They’re good!” She insists.

 

“What girl doesn’t know how to cook?” Harry asks, smiling smugly up at her.

 

“Me, duh” She says, and Harry’s reluctant to roll his eyes. It falls into a comfortable silence after that, and Aphrodite’s not actually thinking about talking, but then she remembers about the frat party tomorrow.

 

“So, are you going to the party tomorrow?” She asks, and Harry nods.

 

“Of course” Harry states, and Aphrodite nodded thoughtfully. “I reckon you are too?”

 

“Uh yeah, Jordan sort of talked me into it” Aphrodite mumbled, Harry looking back up at her.

 

“Jordan, huh?”

 

“Well, yeah. He’s my friend; friends invite each other to parties”

 

“Of course, I get it”

 

“Uh, yeah”

 

“How’s Jordan been?”

 

“Good I guess, still weird and all. Do you even talk to him?”

 

“Sure, if that’s what you want to call it”

 

“What do you mean?” Aphrodite had abandoned the book,

 

“Nothing; set the table will you? The pasta’s ready” Harry dismisses her with a wave at the hand, and usually that would have pissed Aphrodite off, but she wanted more information and she had to play it nice and submissive with Harry if she wanted to know anything. Harry was surprised in deed when Aphrodite nodded curtly before jumping off the counter and getting two plates from the cupboards. Aphrodite’s usual maid at her house had made sure that Aphrodite had token plenty of kitchen materials even though Aphrodite didn’t cook at all. Aphrodite knew that her maid was just silently praying Aphrodite would magically learn how to cook by the time she came home after school was over for her. She placed the plate mats on either side of the rectangular table, and placed a plate on top of each, before placing a fork by each plate.

 

“What do you want to drink?” She asked, hoping there actually was something to drink.

 

“I bought wine, it’s in the bag on the counter” Harry told her, placing the spaghetti in a big glass serving bowl.

 

“Wine?” Aphrodite asked, grabbing the bottle of white win from the bag. After rummaging through the boxes of kitchen supplies, Aphrodite had fortunately found some wine flutes.

 

“Yeah, S’My favorite” Harry told her, accepting the glass flute of wine she was offering him. Fortunately, Aphrodite’s parents lived off white vine, so Aphrodite was accustom to the drink, and could keep it down for a meal.

 

“This looks great” Aphrodite praised as she eyed the glass bowl of pasta. “Thank you” Harry somewhat blushed under the compliment as he brought a smaller bowl of tossed salad to sit beside the pasta. Aphrodite watched him with interest as she sipped out of her glass flute. Harry was so at ease with cooking, and in the kitchen. He was a lot more quiet and serious, but Aphrodite liked it. It was kind of funny watching a giant like him work easily in her tiny kitchen though.

 

“Come, sit” Harry offered, pulling out one of the chairs for her. Aphrodite hoped her face wasn’t as red as she imagined, but Harry was never this weird with her. He was completely weird, but in a good way, but he was being extra weird, in Aphrodite’s mind, today. Sure, he actually was a gentleman and a charming sweet heart when he wanted to be, but it was never over the top like this. Aphrodite sat down though, and he pushed her in with ease. Harry strode over to the kitchen lights, dimming it a little before taking his seat across Aphrodite and smiling. His serious phase had left, and he was wearing that goofy child smile he rarely showed.

 

“Why’re you being so weird, is the light hurting your eyes or something?” Aphrodite giggled at her own joke, and Harry didn’t hold back to roll his eyes at her. A smile pulled at the ends of his lips though, “What is all this?” She asked before he could say something smart.

 

“Well, I figured since you would never go on a date with me by choice…” Harry trailed off, searching Aphrodite’s face for any sign of disagreement. Aphrodite only gave him a look to go one, so he did. “I planned a date without you knowing it was a date” He chirped, smiling like it was the simplest thing in the world. Aphrodite was overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions as she stared at Harry’s beaming face. She wasn’t sure if she should laugh at his horrible attempt, feel flattered he was going through such work for a date with Aphrodite, she definitely was sure she was confused, because she never thought of Harry ever wanting to go on a date with her. Confusion beat all her other emotions.

 

“Why would you go through such work to go on a date with me, Harry” She asked finally, when she started to see Harry’s smile fall. She smiled what she hoped was a casual playful smile to ease the moment. It worked, and Harry smiled again, a bit more shyly now though. His tongue poked out from his thin rosy lips as he swiped at his lips to moisturize them. Aphrodite could see he was toying with the ring that was pierced into the right side of his lower lip, and she found it all more amusing that he was nervous now. For once, Harry wasn’t the one amused and Aphrodite the nervous one.

 

“I’m not sure. I’d like to blame it on the fact I’m spoiled and like to get what I want, but I’m not sure if that’s what it is” Harry says. It’s in such a grave and serious voice that Aphrodite can’t laugh or chuckle to ease the moment. She’s not sure why she wants to get rid of this intimate and serious moment her and Harry were having, because it’s not like Harry’s a bad guy, – he’s actually a really sweet and adorable person – she just didn’t see it coming. “This is, much deeper” Harry adds after a long thought. Aphrodite knows she’s blushing now, because her body’s turned warm and her face feel hot. She’s not sure what she wants to say; was she attracted to Harry as well? Her and Harry had become such good friends, could a single date ruin that friendship? It’s Harry, he’s told her about a billion stories of girls he’s dated, Harry can’t seriously think that Aphrodite could be any better than his past girlfriends, but that’s what Aphrodite assumes. Questions are bombarding her now, and Harry’s sitting across her still, waiting for her to say something, anything. So she gathers up what pride she has, and breathes in deeply.

 

“Are you sure a date wouldn’t ruin the friendship we have Harold?” She asks. She decides to play it safe, and wing out her feelings as she stalls for more time.

 

“I don’t think it will” Harry’s much quicker to respond than Aphrodite was, and she’s nervous now. “Do you?” Harry asks.

 

“M’Not sure at all” She mumbles, “Kind of new to all this” She admits, chuckling quietly at her stupidity to try and break the awkwardness.

 

“To what?” Harry asks. Having to talk about her feelings aloud makes her a lot more nervous, and she opens her mouth to say something, preferably anything, but nothing comes out. She starts saying something, but stops, because she doesn’t know how to finish it. Feelings aren’t very good for Aphrodite. She gets choked up, and she doesn’t even know how to express them, nonetheless, detect them herself. Aphrodite blames it on the fact she spent her life alone since her parents were never around, she’s shit at making friends, and she’s never had a boyfriend. So yeah, this is all new.

 

“M’Not sure how to explain it” Aphrodite finally manages. Harry cracks a small smile, and his eyes are twinkling in the small amount of light given. “S’Okay, Fro” Harry says. Aphrodite’s distracted by the way he’s finally called her Fro, and her nervousness slips away for a moment, and Harry’s large hand falls over her tiny one on the table. Nerves come rushing back to Aphrodite, but it’s different. It’s much more relaxing, like sitting next to Harry. When Aphrodite doesn’t say anything else, Harry sighs and takes his hand off Aphrodite’s.

“Then let’s not talk about it” He announces casually, “Let’s just eat, and not talk about it” He adds, taking the glass bowl from the middle of the table. Aphrodite wants to speak out, and tell Harry that they _should_ talk about it, but Aphrodite doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe if Harry just talked about it, then it’d be fine, because then she wouldn’t have to worry about the conversation going in the wrong direction because of something Aphrodite said. Aphrodite knows Harry won’t have it that way though, o she stays quiet. They eat in silence, and the food is so good, Aphrodite praises Harry over it once, and Harry just looks at her for a while before saying thank you and going back to his food. It stays silent from there, and Aphrodite hates it so much. They clean the dishes together, and when it’s put away, Aphrodite follows Harry to the coat closet where he pulls on his black trench coat.

“I’m sorry, Harry” Aphrodite finally manages to say when Harry’s finally got on his coat. He’s staring at her again, but he shrugs this time. The movement is so effortless, and he looks rather bored instead of hurt; like he doesn’t even care.

 

“S’Alright” He says, “I get it, Jordan’s a better guy than I am” He adds. Aphrodite’s jaw goes slack, and she wants to yell at Harry that he’s wrong, and that she’s sick and tired of everyone assuming that she and Jordan are an item. Harry’s out the door before she can even regain her posture though, the door slamming behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i take notice this chapter is drastically shor compared to the others, but it's an update since idk if ill be updating more later. xx

**Author's Note:**

> sooo? im not so sure how I feel about this one.. Feedback would be great, bc im a little skeptical about this first chapter :p xx


End file.
